About us
He Ao Hou is an ambitious initiative for North Dunedin, Ōtepoti ki te Raki, focused on enhancing community well-being, supporting children, tamariki, young people, rangatahi, families and whānau. Through improved access to resources, programmes and support systems, He Ao Hou aims to bridge service gaps and foster a nurturing environment over the next 25 years.
Thanks to generous funding from the Otago Community Trust and the Ministry of Education, He Ao Hou i Ōtepoti ki te Raki is now launching after careful and ongoing development. With input from community stakeholders and the support of our Patron Emeritus Distinguished Professor Richie Poulton from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, He Ao Hou seeks to service gaps for North Dunedin's tamariki, rangatahi and whānau.
While He Ao Hou is still in its early stages, some members of the North Dunedin Community of Learning – Ōtepoti Ki Te Raki Kāhui Ako – have been actively involved in its development for several years.
He Ao Hou is an independent Charitable Trust. We have the support of schools and early childhood centres in the area, as well as the Ministry of Education, though we a separate entity to these.
Working in Collaboration
We are actively working on developing our organisational frameworks and engaging with community members and stakeholders in North Dunedin.
Our primary objective is to foster collaboration with service providers and schools in the area to ensure all those that need it are receiving the appropriate support.
We do not aim to provide direct participant intervention. Rather, we aim to assess the needs of the participant and make appropriate referrals to services in Dunedin that already exist. We will then walk alongside the participants to ensure barriers to engagement are overcome, and gaps in services needed are identified. The identification of these gaps will feed into the long term workplan of He Ao Hou and the next phase of the project – filling the gaps.
In the coming months, we aim to connect with organisations across Ōtepoti as we refine our systems and commence our work within the community. Our commitment lies in avoiding duplication of services and upholding best practices. We aspire to incorporate diverse frameworks into our approach, ensuring that our tamariki and rangatahi receive the utmost quality of support and care from us.
We work with all children, young people and families connected to North Dunedin.
If you are a service provider in Dunedin and you have not heard from us yet, please reach out via our Contact Us page, we would love to kōrero with you.
Relationship with Ōtepoti ki te Raki Kāhui Ako
He Ao Hou i Ōtepoti ki te Raki is an independent registered Charitable Trust focused on serving the community of North Dunedin - we are not the Ministry of Education or part of the Kahui Ako (Community of Learning), we are a separate entity.
The initial concept for the Trust originated from members of the North Dunedin Community of Learning, Ōtepoti ki te Raki Kāhui Ako. Within the Kāhui Ako, these members recognised a growing need for increased support for their ākonga and identified gaps in the available services to support the wider hapori.
To effectively address these issues, it was determined that a separate entity should be established. This decision allowed He Ao Hou i Ōtepoti ki te Raki to apply for funding and take the lead in implementing a project aimed at meeting the identified needs. Consequently, He Ao Hou i Ōtepoti ki te Raki and Ōtepoti ki te Raki Kāhui Ako formally became two distinct bodies, although some members of the He Ao Hou board may have previous or ongoing involvement with the Kāhui Ako. It is important to note that these are separate entities, operating independently of each other.
He Ao Hou i Ōtepoti ki te Raki strives to collaborate closely with the Ōtepoti ki te Raki Kāhui Ako and its members. The Kāhui Ako possesses unique insights into the needs of tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau in the North Dunedin area.
By leveraging the expertise in the Kāhui Ako and their understanding of the community's requirements, He Ao Hou endeavours to deliver impactful support. The Trust recognises the value of working hand-in-hand with the Kāhui Ako in addressing the specific needs of the community. Together, they strive to create a brighter future for the tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau of North Dunedin.
North Dunedin, spanning from Kapukataumahaka-Mt Cargill to Koputai-Port Chalmers, is a vibrant community characterised by our demographic diversity and whenua ataahua. What sets us apart is not only our natural surroundings but also the presence of renowned tertiary institutions that call North Dunedin home.